Tips for Attracting and Keeping the Newest Generation of Employees  

“More than one-in-three American workers today are Millennials (adults ages 18 to 34 in 2015),” according to data think tank, Pew Research, and they comprise the largest share of the American workforce. Due strictly to volume, millennials’ presence is felt in most every business.

By now, you’ve likely heard the buzz that it’s harder for companies to recruit millennials with the same offer packages that attracted previous generations. “Standard” benefits packages rolled out in employee handbooks don’t interest most much of this age group. And why would it? This is a generation for which computers and cellular phones are routine and information comes at lightning speed via social media. What, exactly, is appealing about a black and white handbook, anyway?

It’s not just the format that fails to attract millennials, either. Although plenty are still interested in tried and true benefits like retirement plans, there’s greater interest in benefits not traditionally offered. The way in which benefits are presented also affects millennials’ reaction to them.

Tips for Presenting Benefits to Millennials 

Offer Choices
Millennials expect choices. Their upbringing in an on-demand age, makes millennials willing to base their coverage on their needs at the moment, not their anticipated needs in a year or two. Employers offering cafeteria-style plans with a selection of health benefits, for example, with a combination of employer-paid standard and employee-paid add-on options are on point.

Make it Easy
Millennials value their time, so they want straight-forward benefits explanations, succinct paperwork, and the chance to discuss the pros and cons of those benefits with a peer social network. Oh, and they want it available on a mobile device, too.  Some employers are choosing carriers based on criteria like easy-to-use portals, mobile apps, even blogs to help them reach millennials.

5 Benefits to Offer Millennials 

Remember that old adage, you’ll attract more flies with honey than vinegar…millennials are a little more discerning in their taste in honey. Their parent’s generation might have been content with clover honey because that’s what was available. Millennials, however, know there’s a large selection of honey out there—Alfalfa, Clover, Orange Blossom, Buckwheat, Tupelo– and they know which ones they personally prefer. Variety is the name of the game.

Professional Development Programs
“More” could be one of the most important words to a millennial, and not in the way some employers might think. What millennials really want is more involvement, more training, and more opportunities to prove themselves. They want to know where their careers are headed and exactly what steps to take to move forward. Mentorship programs and additional training are great places to start to enhance millennials’ careers. Financial incentives to pay off previous student loans or for further education are both important to these young professionals.

Holistic Approach to Wellness
Total employee wellness trumps basic health coverage and a gym membership. Healthier employees make a stronger company. Fun, engaging fitness challenges—either team or individual—attract more participants and achieve greater success through a support network. Few people like to work out alone at the gym, and millennials are social creatures. Company-sponsored teams for a local charity sporting event or 5K strengthen bodies as they strengthen the relationships in the company.

Yoga, massage, education in stress-relieving techniques and greater mental health benefits are just a few of the things employers are adding to foster a holistic approach to wellness that millennials crave.

Flexible Scheduling
Nothing spells success like the ability to create your own schedule. Sure, when schedules governed by the need to keep factories productive for three shifts a day ruled the universe, employee schedules ran like clockwork. Obviously, in some industries, it’s still necessary to strictly adhere to the clock, but many companies have found that flexible schedules allow employees to work when they are at their finest. Not everyone is a morning person, and increased globalization means that someone halfway around the globe will certainly need an IT person at 2 am EST, thus satisfying the cravings of the night owl. The ability to take two hours off in the middle of the day to go to an appointment or see a child in the school reduces employee stress and increases their willingness to work harder when company deadlines demand.

Paid & Unpaid Time Off
One week vacations and “use it or lose it” sick days are dinosaurs. Cutting-edge companies are increasingly offering a block of PTO days that employees can use as they see fit, not segregated into categories of vacation, sick or personal time. Some employers are going so far as to offer unlimited unpaid time off, recognizing that the employee knows when he or she needs a break and for how long.

Choice of Where to Work
Remember millennials cut their teeth on laptop computers. They are more mobile than any other generation, in every way, and they don’t understand the need to spend 9 to 5 confined to a cubicle. If their work can be done from anywhere, they want the option to choose where they will work—beach, coffee shop, home or company headquarters. They don’t separate work from life; it’s all fluid for millennials.

Don’t make the mistake of assuming that millennials will be lured by salary alone. Anything that enriches the life or enhances the lifestyle of a millennial will help your company attract and keep the best and brightest millennial employees. Free snacks in the break room, company philanthropic programs, casual dress codes, relocation assistance, and pets at work are perks that work.